Hellcats- Season 2
by Nighwriter
Summary: I was very upset by how Season 1 ended and that they canceled the show after. This is what would have happened in my mind if the show continued.
1. Chapter 1

The Pain to come

Having seen the pain in Marti's eyes, Dan shot Savannah a quick look and rushed out after her. He couldn't see her when he got to the street, but he got in his car and drove. He needed to make sure she was okay. He didn't know where to start looking, but he just put the car in drive and started down the road. He considered heading to the gym, but being that the Hellcats had just had to forfeit Nationals, he doubted she was there. He picked up his phone and dialed her number. She didn't pick up. He tried again, but he got the same result.

"Damn it Marti, where did you go?" Dan asked himself as he drove and looked out for her. He kept thinking about how much he wished that Marti had rushed out of the room and straight towards him. He wanted her to have fallen into his arms for comfort, or asked him to come with her. Or even just picked up her phone and say something along the lines of, "Dan I need you, meet me." He thought about how much he loved her. He had always loved her. Knowing that she was out there and hurt killed him. "Damn it," he screamed inside of his car, upset with himself for letting her slip away that night, and every night before that.

There was nothing else he could do except drive and try to find her.

Marti was lost. She had just found out that her father was alive, and in contact with her sister, who yet again lied to her. She felt so betrayed and alone in the world. Her own family had lied to her multiple times. Deirdre, her mom, Rex, even Dan lied to her and then left her. She pedaled harder and faster. She didn't know exactly where she was headed, but she knew she needed to get away from Cheertown as fast as possible.

Before she realized it, she found herself on Julian's street, and in another instant she was stopped in front of his house. She ran up the stoop, tears running down her face, and knocked on the door. Julian opened it and Marti fell into him. He held her, feeling her tears soak through his shirt. They remained like that, in the doorway, for moment, until a voice from inside shouted out, "Julian, who's at the door?"

Marti pulled back from his embrace slightly to see whom the voice came from. Through her still teary eyes, Marti saw a well-dressed woman, around Julian's age, walking towards them. Marti looked further into his house and noticed the lit candles on the table and the dimmed lighting.

She pushed away from Julian, realizing what she had just intruded upon.

"Marti, it's not what you think," Julian said.

"Yeah oh course. It's never what I think. Because nobody ever lies to me, it's just me never getting the full picture," Marti said in a shaky voice, trying to push back the tears she felt coming. She turned away from the house and ran down the stoop. Julian ran after her, trying to catch up.

"Marti. Marti, please, stop. Marti!" Julian shouted after her as she hopped back onto her bike and peddled down the road. Julian ran down the street, but she kept getting further and further ahead.

The rain began to come down harder, but she didn't care. Marti peddled faster and faster. Now she was really lost and didn't have anywhere to go. There was nobody left for her to turn to that she would find comfort in, and she couldn't go back to Cheertown. Her head felt like it was going to explode and she didn't feel any pain, but at the same time she felt nothing but it. Tears rolled down her face and she felt her phone buzz in her pocket and questioned whether or not she should answer it. Who could it be and how much more pain could they cause her in one night? She continued peddling, and with every thought peddled harder and faster, hoping her body would just find its way somewhere she could feel safe. Her phone wouldn't stop buzzing and she finally gained the courage to take it out of her pocket and answer it, maybe just enough to tell them to go away. She looked down from the road for a moment, just long enough for a car to run the red light and head straight for her. Marti looked up when she heard someone shout her name across the street, leading her to stare directly into the car that had run the red, and was about to hit her.

She flipped off her bike and onto the hood of the car and then onto the street. She felt pain radiate all over her body and then everything went black.

Dan had already checked The Rat, Wanda's place and was at his last resort, Julian's house. He hated the thought of Marti going to him, but just prayed that she was there. That she was safe and not out in the horrible rain. He ran up the steps two at a time, and knocked on the door in a frantic manner. Julian ran to the door and threw it open.

"Please tell me Marti's here," Dan said, almost pleading.

"She's not. What happened? Is everything okay? She came here, crying, but before I could ask her she saw my ex and ran out," Julian said, worried.

"Shit. I've been out looking for her. Something happened with her sister and she stormed out and… Well I saw it in her face. She has only had that look a couple of times before and it has always been bad. I can't find her and I've been looking for like 20 minutes. Do you have any ideas as to where she went? Did she give you any hints?" Dan said, pacing on the stoop completely stressed out and panicked.

"I don't know where she is, but can I help you? I've been trying to call her ever since she left and she won't pick up," Julian said.

"Fine, just get in my truck. I need to find her. Last time this happened, well, you don't want to know."

Julian grabbed his jacket and ran out, almost not even locking the door behind him. Dan got into the drivers seat and quickly started the car and drove off. He followed something in his heart that told him where to go, even though he really didn't know where that was. They drove in silence for a few minutes. Both boys were in love with her, but knew they messed up. Marti needed them, and they couldn't be there for her. Julian kept calling her, hoping she would pick up. Needing her to pick up.

Then they saw her. She coming down the street the opposite way they were. Julian rolled down his window and called to her.

"Marti, I…," and that's all her could say before the car hit her. Dan pulled over and they both ran to her, feeling their heartbreak and not knowing what they would do without her.

She was unconscious and looked badly beaten up. Blood soaked her clothing and hair. Julian called an ambulance as Dan ran up to her, he grabbed her hand and kept whispering, "It's going to be okay, Marti. Stay with me. Please don't leave me. I need you."


	2. Chapter 2: Barely Holding On

Chapter 2: Barely Holding on

Marti was rushed into surgery and was barely alive. Dan called Savannah, telling her what had happened and to bring Wanda to the hospital. Julian and Dan sat in the waiting room, not knowing what to do or what they were going to say. Savannah walked in soon after and ran to hug Dan.

"Why is she here?" Dan asked pointing to Deirdre, "It's her fault Marti ran out in the first place."

"Don't blame her. We don't even know what happened. All we know is that my baby girl is hurt and may not make it," Wanda said crying.

"No it is my fault. I lied to her. Rex didn't leave me. I walked away from him and he called me tonight. Marti picked up, not knowing who it was and then I don't know what happened exactly but it's all my fault…," Deirdre said between tears. "I'm a horrible sister. All I have ever done to her is lie to her. I wish she had never found me, then she'd be okay. She wouldn't have been hurt by me, and she wouldn't be dying in a hospital right now."

"Oh honey," Wanda said walking over to Deirdre, "you two are sisters and I don't think she regrets ever meeting you, not even now."

"But you didn't see her. She promised me she wouldn't leave me, and I hurt her so badly that she did."

"Your sister cares about you. I fight with my sister all the time, but I would never really leave her. Marti was just mad at you, this isn't your fault and I don't think she blames you. All you can do now, is stay. Don't leave her and show her that she means something to you. When she gets out of surgery and is healed, she will forgive you and you can explain why you kept the truth a secret," Savannah said. "There's nothing else we can do for her now, except pray."

The five of them sat down in the waiting room in silence. Wanda sat between Deirdre and Savannah, holding Deirdre's hand. Savannah leaned on Dan's shoulder, holding his arm, and Julian sat across from all of them. Minutes, that felt like days, of silence went by. Finally Dan spoke.

"Julian, you haven't really said much, but you did say that Marti was at your house but your ex was there so she ran out. What happened?" Dan asked. Everyone looked towards Julian with questions and speculation.

"She came by my house about 10 minutes before you did. She was crying, but didn't say anything. My wife…" Julian started to explain.

"Your wife! What kind of person are you? Do you usually go around cheating on your wife, especially with your law student?" Dan exclaimed, "If we weren't in a hospital right now, I would hit you so hard, that your wife would feel it."

"Dan, calm down. I may not like some of his choices, but he has helped me out a lot. He has to be a decent person to help me out with everything he did, and if that's just a cover up, then G-d will have his own ways of punishing him," Savannah said, hopeful.

"My wife and I are legally separated and I was meeting with her tonight to finally move it over into a legal divorce, while keeping it as messy as possible. My wife doesn't want to move on, she wants to try again, but I don't want to. I love Marti and wanted to be able to see her without having any complications. I want to be a free man in order to see where we go. Marti got the wrong picture when she came by tonight. When she ran out with me after her, my wife saw that my love for Marti was real, while the love between her and me was gone. She said she knew she could never win me back, and was going to give me the divorce I wanted. She left a few minutes later and I wanted to find Marti but I had no idea where to look. I need to see her. I need to tell her what happened and that I love her. That I am in love with her. If she doesn't come out of this okay, I don't think I will ever forgive myself. I should have stopped her from leaving. I should have forced her to hear me before leaving. I shouldn't have called out to her, then she wouldn't have turned and maybe she could have avoided being hit."

"It's Marti. Nobody can stop her from doing anything she doesn't want to, or hear anything she doesn't want to. It's not your fault. We all played a part in breaking her down. I lied to her about her father, about her scholarship, about so many other things that didn't help her. She's strong though, and a fighter, she's going to pull through and be putting all of us back together like she always does," Wanda said. Nobody wanted to say anything. There was nothing that could comfort anyone, or make them feel better, just sitting there helped.

"Mrs. Perkins?" a man in scrubs said walking into the waiting room after an hour. Wanda nodded her head yes and stood up. Everyone else stood paralyzed in his or her seats, but looked up to listen to what happened, "hi, I'm Doctor Morgan, I treated your daughter. We had to rush her into surgery when she first got in, but she is out now. She suffered a major trauma to her body. She had broken three of her ribs, which we were able to fix in surgery, along with a broken leg. She hit her head when fell, which caused her brain to swell. We don't know if there are any significant brain deficits and we probably won't know until she wakes up, which could be in a few days. She isn't breathing on her own right now and has a tube going down her throat to help her."

"Isn't a coma a bad sign though? Oh please tell me my baby girl is going to be okay," Wanda said wanting to cry.

"A coma is just the body shutting down in order to heal. It is not necessarily good or bad, we will need to wait and see how she progresses over time," the doctor replied. "One of you can go see her, but we don't want to many people in the ICU at one time.

"I'll go," Wanda said.

"We'll be here. Go see her and tell us how she is," Savannah said, still holding onto Dan.

Wanda followed the doctor into the ICU. She looked around at all of the patients, some sleeping, some clearly in too much pain to sleep. Doctor Morgan finally stopped in front of a room and opened the door for Wanda to go in. She walked in and froze. Machines surrounded her daughter with tubes going in and out all over. Her head was swollen and she looked hurt. Wanda walked the rest of the way over to the bed and grabbed her hand.

"Listen baby girl. I know that you are strong and that you will pull through all of this. When you do I promise I will be stronger. You won't have to take care of me as much and I promise I won't lie to you anymore. All you ever wanted was for me to tell the truth, and I haven't done a very good job of that but I will. Anything you want to know I'll tell you. You have so many people who love you. Heck, you have two boys out there who are in love with you and would do anything for you. When you come through, you're going to have a really tough decision on whose heart you're going to break because Dan and Julian are willing to do anything for you. They were about to start a fight over you, which is definitely understandable. Anyway, I need you to pull through, and soon. I know you are strong, I have seen your strength and you can come through this so please, fight and fight hard so I can look into my beautiful daughter's eyes again and know she hears me when I tell her I love her." Wanda broke off with a slight smile, along with a few tears. She held onto her daughter and prayed for a little while. She blamed herself for her daughter's brokenness. She had made so many mistakes that her daughter had to pay for which led her to this. If she had told her about her father, and they had found Rex and Deirdre, then she wouldn't of been out there. And even if she were out there, even if they hadn't found Deirdre until then, Marti would have at least been able to find comfort in her mother, rather than finding someone else. Tears fell down her cheeks again and she hated herself. She looked back at her daughter and began to see blood soak through the sheets.

"Help! Help! I need some help in here! There's blood! Oh god, my daughter is bleeding," Wanda cried out, then sank to the floor. She wished she could have someone there to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay and work out, but the only person could do that, was the person in the bed. The doctors ran in and a nurse escorted her out to the waiting room.

Dan ran over to her and led her to a chair, supporting her the entire time. Wanda curled over into two and cried for a few minutes. Nobody knew what to say, or how bad it was. None of the four of them wanted to ask because they feared the worst and they couldn't and wouldn't accept it if that was the truth.

It was well past 2 in the morning when the doctor came back. Dan helped Wanda stand up as Dr. Morgan stood in front of them.

"Mrs. Perkins, I think we should speak in private."

"Okay," Wanda said in a mumble, the only thing she had enough energy to do. She nodded to Dan to say that she was going to be okay and he could let go of her.

Wanda and the doctor moved away from everybody else and the doctor spoke, "Did you know your daughter was pregnant?" Wanda looked up in confusion and nodded her head no. "When we brought your daughter in, we didn't have any idea and she didn't show any indications as towards being pregnant. Neither of the men she was with mentioned it when we asked for her medical history, but after the trauma of the accident, she miscarried the baby. I didn't want to say it in front of everyone else because I don't know if they knew or what she was planning on doing."

"I don't even think she knew she was pregnant. That is the kind of thing she would tell me, or her roommate, or someone if she knew and nobody told me."

"I'm sorry for your loss of the baby, but that is why your daughter was bleeding and she seems to be stable for now otherwise."

"Thank you." Dr. Morgan left the waiting room and Wanda returned to everyone else. "She's fine and still stable for now." Wanda told them. She didn't want to tell anyone about the baby because she didn't know whom Marti wanted to know. "I'm going to stay here tonight, but you guys should go home and get some rest."

"I want to stay. I already updated all of the Hellcats on what happened and they are going to bring me some clothes and anything else you want, Wanda, but I can't go back to our room," Savannah said, "I also want to be here when she wakes up. And I feel confident that she will. Positive outcomes only."

"I'll stay then, too," Dan said.

"Dan you have work in the morning. You need to go home, we'll be fine I promise, and if she wakes up tonight, we'll call you," Savannah said.

"I'm staying. She promised me that she'd never leave me, so I won't leave her," Deidre said.

"If you don't mind, I would like to stay. I need to talk with her when she wakes up. I need to explain what she saw and I need to tell her I love her. She needs to know," Julian said.

"If I've learned anything from Marti it's that arguing with people about what they have already made up their minds on is a useless thing. You guys already know what you're doing, plus I don't have the energy to argue. I'm too tired." Wanda said.

"Dan, you really can't afford to miss work, please just go home and take a quick nap. I love you and I promise I will call if anything changes," Savannah said looking into Dan's eyes.

"Ok, but if anything happens notify me immediately," Dan said. He gave Savannah a kiss and left.

Everyone sat down and fell asleep except Wanda. Savannah woke up around 4:15 in the morning and saw Wanda staring off into the distance, still awake.

"Did you sleep at all?" Savannah asked Wanda, trying to wake herself up.

"I tried for a while but couldn't fall asleep. I was so afraid that if I fell asleep, then she'd be dead by the time I woke up," Wanda said in a weak, exhausted voice.

"But she's fine. There hasn't been any update, has there?" Wanda shook her head no. "So we should think positively. There is nothing that should make us doubt that. Have you been allowed back to go see her?"

"They said that with everything that happened, they want to limit the amount of people who go into her room, but if she stays stable throughout the night, then a couple of us can see her, but only one at a time until she is stronger."

"That's good. I've been praying and God has done some amazing things. I know he will help Marti. Do you want to tell me what really happened when the doctor pulled you aside? Everyone else is asleep and I can see that something is bothering you."

"Marti was pregnant. She lost the baby from the accident, but I don't think she knew she was pregnant. Did she tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell me anything."

"Even more than that, I'm not even sure of whose baby it was. The doctor only found after she lost the baby so he didn't know exactly how far along she was, but it wasn't too far considering she wasn't showing. Also, neither Julian nor Dan mentioned it when they brought her in so I don't think she wanted them to know if she did."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but God has a plan and it's all going to work out. I'm here for you for anything you need, along with all of the Hellcats."

"Thank you. And thank you for being there for Marti and me."

"Your welcome. You need to get some sleep. I'll stay awake and watch out for everyone, I'm not even that tired anymore." Savannah hugged Wanda and Wanda put her head on her shoulder. After a short struggle of not wanting to fall asleep, her exhaustion overcame her and she fell asleep. Savannah watched over everyone asleep. Julian and Deidre and Wanda. All looking rather peaceful through their pain. She couldn't stop thinking about who Marti's baby's father was. Was it Dan? Or Louis? Or Julian? What would have happened if she hadn't lost it and it was Dan's? Were Dan and Marti together since he and Savannah got together. The what ifs and who and when killed her. She needed to know and she hated that she didn't. She cared about Dan and Marti, but if they betrayed her again, she didn't know if she could forgive them.

Morning came slowly and around 8 A.M. Alice and Louis came by the hospital to drop off some clothes and breakfast.

"Is she going to be okay?" Louis asked.

"We don't really know yet. The doctors are hopeful, but it's all in God's hands. She's in a coma for now, but the doctors said that it could be a good thing and let her body heal. She's strong and I think she'll pull through," Savannah said, with Wanda still asleep on her shoulder.

"And how are you and everyone else?" Alice asked.

"We're struggling, but holding together. Wanda was shaken up from the entire thing and didn't get much sleep. I don't really want to wake her up because it's going to be a long time before everything goes back to normal in her life and she looks relaxed. I don't want to break that."

"Don't worry, I'm already awake. I was just hoping I'd be able to open my eyes to Marti having hers open, or at least the doctor telling me I could see her," Wanda said with her eyes closed.

"It shouldn't be too much longer now. There was no new news throughout the night, which is good. She's going to recover and be fine."

"You know, Savannah, your positive outcomes only actually may help in this case. It's too bad you can't write on Marti's arm 'heal' or something." Alice said teasing and they all smiled. Alice and Louis hung around and continued talking with Wanda about random things, keeping her occupied until they were finally allowed to go see Marti. Julian and Deirdre eventually woke up and joined the conversation. They almost forgot where they were and why they were there when the doctor came out.

"Mrs. Perkins, you and Marti's family and friends can head back to visit her one at a time whenever you are ready." Wanda got up with a half smile on her face and walked to the back as fast as she could go while still looking like she was walking. The night before was the longest night of her entire life and she couldn't wait to see her baby girl, even if she was still unconscious.

Wanda walked straight into the room and up next to the bed. She grabbed her daughter's hand and looked her up and down. "You know, even when you are hurt you are still gorgeous, baby girl. You look better than yesterday and I know that with every minute, you are going to get better and a little bit stronger. Soon you will be back flying with the Hellcats and I'm going to have to beg you to slow down so your old mama can catch up. When you wake up, though, we need to talk about a couple of things. You know I don't judge, that's the Lord's job; I am just here to give advice and tell you things I have learned from experience. You have a lot of people who really love you and want to see you so I am going to let them come in and I'll be back later. I love you," Wanda said giving her daughter a kiss on the head and walked out. She went back to the waiting room and told Deidre where to go so she could visit next.

Deirdre hesitated at the door. She was afraid of going inside to have her sister wake up and hate the fact that she was there. Was Savannah right? Does family mean that people will get mad and say things, but still be there for each other? She decided that she needed her sister. She liked having someone who was hopefully always going to be there for her and love her, no matter how many mistakes she made. Deirdre walked through the door and into her sister's room. It was the first time she had ever been inside a hospital and all of the sounds and sights scared her. She looked at her big sister and wanted to cry. "Hey sis. I know you are mad at me right now, I am mad at myself, too. I hate that I lied to you. You need to know that Rex isn't who you want him to be. He left me after my mom died and he relapsed. A few years ago I let him back into my life and right as I trusted him, right as I got used to having a father around. He disappeared again. He's tried to get me to see him multiple times, but I don't want to. I can't let him back into my life if he is just going to walk out again every time life gets hard. He needed to choose between his drugs and me, and he chose drugs. It's exactly what he did to you when you were a child, but you got lucky. You still had your mom, and she is amazing. I had no one and then every time he tried to fight his way back into my heart just to break it again killed me more and more. I hope that one day, you can forgive me and you can accept me back into your life because now that I have a big sister, I don't ever want to give her up," Deirdre said half smiling and half crying. "I don't know what else to say here. I've never known anyone to be hurt like this. I'm going to go back to everyone else so someone who is good at things can come and talk to you. I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I hope you can."

Deirdre wiped her tears from her eyes and left the room. Julian went in next. "You are honestly the most difficult woman to deal with. You are challenging, stubborn, driven, smart, and beautiful, even in this jumbled up state you are in I think you look beautiful. That's why I fell for you. I don't care if you can hear me or not, but I need to tell you this now. I love you. I have loved you since you stood up to me and went behind my back to help Travis. And when you wake up, if you don't remember I told you that I love you, I will tell you it again and again." He sat there staring at her. Examining each thing about her, trying to remember everything part of her just in case, well just in case of a couple of things. He loved her and he wished that she didn't need to get hurt for him to know that. He wished that he hadn't invited his ex over the night before, and that she was asleep next to him in his place instead of in horrible condition in the hospital. He wished they had spent the whole night talking, instead of fighting and having her leave. He was beginning to forget her voice. He moved out of his trance and realized that he had been standing there for a half hour. A half hour of him talking to her and just staring at her and thinking about how much he loved her. He wanted to stay longer, but he knew that Savannah and everyone else still wanted to see her, and he didn't know if she even wanted him there. He leaned over and kissed her, wishing she'd wake up. He walked back to everyone else holding back tears. He couldn't stop thinking about this was so much of his fault. He had called to her. He had been the one person she wanted to go to and he had failed her.

As he approached the waiting room he saw one of the doctors walk away from Wanda and the rest of the group. Deirdre was still sitting in the chair. She was staring at her phone but he could tell that she was hearing what was going on and just didn't know what she should do or say. He tried to read their faces and know if he should run back into her room, or out into the street. If she were doing worse, he wouldn't know what to do. He was just in the room and didn't look at the monitors, but even if he did, he wouldn't know what they meant. He walked up to them at a slow and slower walk, ready to run out the door and cry.

"Is she okay?" Julian asked hesitatively.

Wanda looked up with a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "She's doing better. They are moving her out of the ICU and into the regular part of the hospital. They aren't sure when she's going to wake… but they are hopeful she will. They were just waiting for you to leave the room to move her."

Julian took a breath. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, and almost stopped breathing when he saw Wanda crying.

"Can we go see her once she is moved?" Savannah asked giving a look to Louis and Alice to say she was asking for them too.

"Yeah. They said someone will be back in about ten minutes to show us where she is." Wanda said.

Once the doctor came back, Savannah, Louis and Alice followed him to the back.

"Mrs. Perkins, I'm so sorry. I know that this was my fault. I, I shouldn't of invited my ex over that night. I should have kicked her out or told her to stay away when I saw Marti at the door. I don't know what I should have done, but I saw through her tears she was hurt and I was the person she wanted to see. I'm also sorry for that," Julian said, trying to avoid looking into the eyes of the mother of the woman he loved.

"Julian, how many times have I told you to call me Wanda," Wanda said with a slight grin. "You need to stop beating up on yourself. There was nothing you could have said or done that would have done anything. You couldn't have predicted that the rest of us would mess up and that she would need you. She was just feeling betrayed by the world. She always felt like she got the short end of the stick, and that may be because of me. She always had to take care of me, she was always the adult, she never had a father because I took him away from her, or he took himself away. I don't even know anymore. I can see in your eyes how much you love her and you are hurting, you didn't need to tell me. Can I give you a hug because you look like you need one?"

Julian looked up and Wanda embraced him. In a way, they both wished it was Marti they had their arms around, and in a way, they both knew that that was how the other one felt.

"Oh my gosh," Alice said walking into Marti's room. She was holding onto Savannah, supporting her.

"Hey Marti, the doctors think that you may be able to hear us, so I'm going to talk no matter how silly Alice may think I am being. You've been through a lot recently. Finding out about your dad and then everything that happened with your sister, and now this, but you are a fighter. I saw it as soon as you tried out to be a Hellcat. It's why I had to put you on the team, even though I really didn't get along with you in the beginning. You are one of my best friends and I am going to be here to help you the entire time," Marti said.

"Yeah and now that you may be off your game I may be able to take my base back," Alice said smiling at Louis.

"Alice!" Savannah said.

"Well, I mean I really never wanted her to know, but she may possibly be a slightly better flier than me, but now I may actually be able to beat her. Plus I really like flying with my base."

"Wow, Alice complimenting Marti and saying that she is even better than her. What happened last night?" Louis said teasingly.

"I said she might be a slightly better flyer than me and I have just been off my game since my injury. If I had never gotten hurt, then she would never even come close to being as good of a flier as me. Then again, if I hadn't gotten hurt then she wouldn't have ever been on the team and we would have never gotten to know her, which I guess would kind of suck for you Savannah."

"Oh Alice. Is it possible for you to give anyone a compliment?" Louis said.

"Well you're cute and strong…" Alice said moving into Louis' arms and standing on her tippy-toes to kiss him.

"Guys, you know where we are right? Marti's hospital bed," Savannah said. Alice and Louis moved their faces away from each other, but didn't move apart. Alice spun around to face Savannah and look at Marti. She had wanted Marti to get hurt from the moment she had walked into try-outs. Now that she saw Marti broken and beaten, lying in the bed, she felt horrible. She wanted to apologize to Marti, but she knew she would never be able to, especially not with Louis and Savannah around.

"We're all going to pray for you," Savannah said giving her friend one last look then turning away. It was becoming too painful to look at Marti. She didn't know why bad things kept happening to the people that she loved. She walked out of the room without saying anything else. Alice and Louis walked out right after and when they were outside, Alice gave Savannah a hug.

That night and the next day Wanda stayed with Marti, only leaving her bedside for short periods of time to shower and do small things, but only when someone else came to take her place.

Three days after the accident Dan finally came to see her. He walked up to the information desk and got directions to Marti's room. He walked in and saw Wanda sitting in a chair next to the bed, reading a magazine. He took a breath and looked at Marti. This was the moment he was dreading. He hoped that she would be awake and he wouldn't have to think about the possibility of her not opening her eyes.

"Hey Wanda," Dan said.

"Oh Dan. It's been a few days," Wanda said looking up. Dan saw in her eyes how drained she was and how much she looked like she had aged in such a short time. She looked like she hadn't slept in days, and she hadn't. "I'm glad you're here and I'm sure Marti is, too."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I haven't been here…"

"Dan it's okay. You're here now and that's all that matters."

"Do you mind if I have some time alone with her? You can take my truck and go home for a little. Take a nap or something, you don't look like you've been sleeping well."

"I haven't really been sleeping at all, plus I really need to take care of a couple of things." Wanda stood up, kissed daughter on the forehead and whispered, "I love you. I'll see you when I get back."

"I'll watch over her, I can finally pay her back for all of the times she took care of me," Dan said barely wanting to take his eyes off Marti, while at the same time not wanting to see her at all. He handed Wanda the keys and told her where the truck was parked. He watched her walk out of the room before sitting in her chair. "I'm sorry I haven't been here. I know I should've been. It's just…. It's just that I didn't know what to do or say, and it's so hard to look at you like this. I still don't know what to do. Damn it Marti, why did you do this to me? You need to come back to us right now. Just open your eyes and look at me," Dan stood up and began pacing the room. His head was spinning with everything he was thinking about, everything he was feeling. "You can't leave me because… because you are my strength. You're the only person who will tell me I'm being stupid when I am. You don't allow me to get away with anything and you make me a better person because of it. But it's more than that. You and I have been through so much together, and we always find our way back to each other, becoming closer than ever. It's not only because we are two damaged weirdoes, who we are; it's because there is a connection between us. Best friends, but also more. We've been trying to avoid it but when you stormed out of Cheertown, I felt it. I knew exactly what I have felt since we were kids. I love you, Marti. I'm in love with you, so you need to wake up, okay? Okay so wake up. I love you and need to know that you know I do. I love you," Dan said repeating _I love you_ as he walked back to her bed. He put his hand on hers and slumped his head. He knew what he felt in his heart and he knew it was breaking with every moment she lay there. He felt something move under his hand and his heart stopped. He looked up and saw her slowly open her intoxicating green eyes.

A tear ran down his cheek and he tried to speak. "Marti? I… I…" He stopped when Marti's eyes moved towards the door. He forced himself to pull his gaze away from the woman he loved and see who had just walked in.

"I'm so sorry, Marti," Julian said standing froze a foot into the room. He held a group of yellow and red roses in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Hi," Marti said in a weak voice, moving her eyes between Dan and Julian.


	3. Chapter 3: A Mother's Love

Chapter 3: A Mother's Love

Marti stretched her arms and slowly opened her eyes. She was warm and comfortable. She could feel the chilly air just above her blanket and she wanted to just turn and go back to bed, but weirdly she wasn't that tired. She sat up and looked around. She didn't know where she was, but it felt comfortable and familiar. She felt like it was home, but she had never been there before. She got out of bed and opened the first door she saw, the one that she quickly learned led to a closet. It was bigger than the one she shared with Savannah in Cheertown, and filled with clothing that was hers mixed into clothing that she wished she owned. She changed out of her pajamas and put on jeans, a sweatshirt and sneakers. She walked out of the closet and closed the door behind her. The second door she opened led her out into a hallway. She walked into the hallway and looked around again, trying to figure out where she was.

She heard noise come from somewhere down the hallway and stopped walking. She took a second to listen and try to identify what she was hearing, at least to decide if she was in danger or not. Something in her gut told her to continue on.

"There's no chance of winning the game if you're not in it," Marti mumbled to herself. She continued down the hallway and the noise got louder. She looked through a large archway and held her breath.

"Hey Mama," a little boy said. He was sitting on a couch directly across from a television that was playing cartoons. Marti looked at him, confused. "Happy birthday," the little boy said, getting up from the couch, running over to her. By instinct she leaned down and he ran into her arms, giving her a huge hug. "I didn't want to wake you up early on your birthday, Mama, so I just came in here and turned on the television."

"Who are you and why do you keep calling me Mama?" Marti said, trying to understand.

"Oh Mama, why are you being so silly today? My name is Christopher Travis. I am five years old, and I love my Mama, even when she is being silly. And I keep calling you Mama because you are my Mama," the little boy answered. Marti had so many questions she wanted to ask, but weird as it was, she believed that this little boy was her son. When she looked at him, she felt connected, but how could that be when she didn't remember him.

"Christopher…"

"Mama, I'm sorry I didn't wake you up when daddy left for work, it's just it's your birthday and I wanted to let you sleep in. Please don't be mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad at you. Why would you think I'm mad at you, baby?" Marti said.

"You only call me Christopher when I'm in trouble. Mama are you okay?" Christopher said putting his hand on her forehead. "You don't feel warm."

"Ok Chris, is that good?" Marti said looking at him. Chris nodded his head yes and smiled. "Are you hungry cuz I am and I'm thinking banana chocolate chip pancakes."

"My favorite!"

"Mine, too. Why don't you bring me to the kitchen and then maybe you can help me make them?" Marti stood up and held out her hand to her son. His smile grew wider and she knew that she loved him more than she has ever loved anyone in her entire life. Chris grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen. It was perfect, exactly the kitchen she had wanted. "Chris you want to play a game?"

"What type of game?"

"A scavenger hunt. We are going to see who can find the most amount of ingredients we need to make the pancakes? On the word go. Ready, Set, Go!" Marti looked in a couple of cabinets to find ingredients and watched as Chris ran around putting everything on the counter. Marti was able to find a pan and bowl while Chris pulled out all of the food ingredients from the fridge and cabinets.

"Mama, you forgot to get the chocolate chips. They're on the top shelf up there," Chris said pointing to the top shelf of a cabinet he opened. Marti walked over to the cabinet and took down the chocolate chips. With everything on the counter, Marti began mixing together the ingredients to make the pancakes she had made with her mother ever since she was a child.

"Do you remember how old your Mama is today?" Marti said while Chris mixed the batter.

"28 years old."

"And who's your father?"

"Well that's daddy. Mama should I be worried that you keep asking me questions? Should I call Grandma or the hop-sicle?"

"No baby I'm fine. So what do you want to talk about?"

"Why don't you tell me a story about when you were a Hellcat? I love those stories."

"Umm, did I ever tell you about how I became a Hellcat?"

"Yes, but I love that story. That's the day when you became friends with Aunt Savannah."

"Joining Hellcats was never my plan. I used to think that cheerleaders were just people who jumped around at football games, but they were so much more than that. I went to tryouts as a last hope to stay in school, because like you know school is very important. I was a gymnast before that, but I had quit sadly, so I rented cheerleading movies and danced around Grandma's living room trying to learn how to flip and do well, cheerleading stuff," Marti said beginning to cook the pancakes. "On the individual part, I jumped around apparently landed a majorly difficult stunt that Aunt Savannah took a long time to learn. I had seen it in one of the movies I had watched and just applied what I had learned in gymnastics. Aunt Savannah was so mad because I had called her a 'football groupie' only a few days before." Marti flipped the third pancake and laughed, remembering what had happened almost like it was yesterday. "After everyone showed off their individual stunt work and Aunt Savannah, her friend Alice and the coach eliminated everyone who they thought wasn't fit to be a 'Hellcat'."

"But not you. You weren't eliminated because you were too good," Chris added.

"That's correct. After that, we went onto the cheering part. Some of the cheerleaders on the team showed us a routine that we then had to replicate."

"But my Mama isn't a follower. She's a leader, plus she's not very good at listening to others."

"Hey, that's not nice to say about your Mama."

"Sorry Mama, but I'm just saying it how you always tell me. Plus Daddy says that you don't really listen to anyone else or follow him or her. Daddy also said a couple of other things, but Daddy made me pinky promise I wouldn't tell you those things."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with Daddy tonight, then. Do you want me to finish the story, though," Marti said. Chris grabbed a pancake off the stack of fresh hot ones and forced out a "Yup" that was muffled by the pancake he was eating.

"They split us up into smaller groups to perform in front of everyone so they could see which people could do it. I started out with the first few beats in line with the group, but I got lost after that. The coach told me to relax, but I couldn't and no matter how much I relaxed, I was not going to get those steps. So instead I did what I always do. I embraced my inner leader, listened to the music and showed off my dance and gymnastics steps with my own routine. Savannah and the coach saw something in me, whether it was my hard work, ability to change and the fact that I was unafraid to be different, and that day I was chosen to be a Hellcat. I found out a few days later, but that was when they decided."

"And that was one of the best days of your life. My Mama was the coolest."

"Was? Your Mama still is the coolest," Marti had so many questions about things she couldn't remember, or just didn't know, but she didn't want to lose any more time with her son. She didn't want to leave him to check around the house for answers or call Wanda or "Aunt" Savannah. She couldn't get over the amazing child in front of her, and the fact that he was hers. She was a mother. And a wife. "Do you want to put plates and cups on the table?"

Chris nodded his head yes and jumped up. He set the table as Marti finished cooking the last pancake and put the pan in the sink. She brought the plate of pancakes to the table and the two of them ate.

"So what do you want to do today?" Marti said.

"It's your birthday so you should chose," Chris said.

"I want to do whatever you want to do."

"I was hoping you'd say that because I really want to go to the park."

"And then maybe some ice cream after?"

"Mama, you really are the coolest. Today's going to be the best day ever!"

It already is Marti thought to herself. The best gift she could have ever gotten was what was right in front of her. After breakfast the two of them cleaned up together and then Chris got dressed. Marti grabbed a jacket for both of them, the keys and the two of them headed out to the park. She had no idea where she was driving to, but her body did and they arrived at the park quickly. The equipment was nice and relatively new. The two of them spent hours playing on the slide, swings and the seesaw. After two hours of them running around, they went out for ice cream. Chris asked her for another story from when she was a Hellcat and then another one. She told him about the time they had to forfeit nationals because everyone was sick and about the first time she flew in a competition. The two of them headed home and Marti lay down with Chris in her bed. She was so tired and she figured Chris needed a nap, too. He fell asleep on her arm and she looked down at him. She couldn't stop staring at the adorable little man who came from her. She had always loved her mother, but she never really knew how much a parent could love their baby until then. At some point she fell asleep and woke up at around 4:15 to her son still sitting on the bed, but with the bedroom T.V. on. She looked up to him and smiled. The two sat in bed together until they heard the front door open.

"Daddy's home," Chris said loudly, climbed off the bed and ran to the front door.

"Did you grow taller while I was working? If you don't stop growing soon then you'll be taller than me before you hit 10. Where's mommy?" a man's said from the foyer. Marti turned off the T.V., stood up from the bed and began walking towards the front foyer. "I'm sorry I had to go into work so early this morning but I wanted to be able to get home early so I could celebrate your birthday with you. I was going to wake you, but you are always so beautiful when you sleep and I didn't want to disturb that."

Marti was about to turn the corner and see who Chris's father and her husband was when the entire world went blank.

She could hear a beeping and felt someone holding her hand. She wiggled her fingers and began to open her eyes. She saw Dan. It was Dan. She looked at her surroundings and tried to remember what had happened.

"I… I…" She heard Dan say and her eyes found Julian, standing about a foot into the room holding a bouquet of yellow and red roses, frozen.

"Hi," she managed to force out, moving her eyes from Julian to Dan and back again.


End file.
